Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio is in Manila to consult with top officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the wake of renewed tensions in the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
The order from the DFA to summon Basilio for consultations came a day after the Philippine government discovered concrete blocks scattered in the shallow waters of the Panatag Shoal, off Zambales province in Luzon.
Philippine officials suspect the move to place concrete blocks in the shoal might be a prelude to China's building infrastructures there as it did at the Mischief Reef, a rich fishing ground located 130 miles from Palawan province, well within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. China took control of Mischief Reef in 1995.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez did not elaborate on the consultation, but said it will include talks about the overall relations between the Philippines and China.
“She was just asked to come home for consultations and will be returning to Beijing tomorrow,” Hernandez told GMA News Online on Friday.
The discovery of the concrete blocks at the Panatag shoal last weekend has sparked renewed tension between Manila and Beijing over the disputed territory.
“Huangyan Island [Scarborough or Panatag Shoal] is China's inherent territory,” Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhang Hua said Thursday in a statement, quoting China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
Manila and Beijing figured in a standoff at the shoal in April last year, which ended temporarily when President Benigno Aquino ordered Philippine vessels to withdraw due to bad weather.
After the confrontation, China never left the area and even roped off the entrance to the shoal to prevent Filipino fishermen from gaining access and shelter in the vast lagoon.
The South China Sea – a strategic waterway where a bulk of the world's trade passes and believed to be rich in oil and natural gas – has been a continuing source of conflict among competing claimants including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, China and Taiwan.
Analysts fear the competing claims could spark a military conflict in the region.
China claims the waters nearly in its entirety, citing historical entitlements as the basis for its huge claim, which Manila branded as “excessive and a violation of international law.”
